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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Surprisingly the only book by Silvia Moreno Garcia I didn't really love. It might be because it's the only one I listened to as an audiobook. I liked the characters overall and the story overall but something about it didn't grab and hold me like her other books I've read. I would zone out listening and couldn't get myself to rewind to try to listen to it again. I always love the setting of old Mexico though, and I loved using the folklore as a major part. The concept and everything was interesting, but I just couldn't fully enjoy it. It's not bad by any means, just not as good as her others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Abandonment, Death, Child death, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
tetedump's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
akincses1992's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I think it was very interesting. It’s kind of like a mythological odyssey. Kind of fairytale like. There’s also a lot to learn about the culture and the mythology so it’s in its own way educational.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror
eleanora's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, and Misogyny
Moderate: Terminal illness, Classism, Sexism, and Animal death
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed the overall ambiance of the book and the way it followed the structure of traditional folklore. All of the stylistic, writing aspects of it were spot on, and although the story was also good, it was the style that really spoke to me. I'm more and more impressed with Silvia Moreno-Garcia's stylistic range!
As a story, I enjoyed stepping into the world of Mexican folklore. The world was rich, but so too were the characters. There's a great conversation here about traditional male and female roles in the 1920s Yucatán. The characters had excellent internal struggles which I really appreciated and the relationship between the gods and mortals, the gods and their underlings, and the gods and one another were all interesting.
I'll be perfectly honest - this book was fantastic, but I wasn't able to mentally focus on it the way I wanted to by no fault of the author. I think if I'd been able to close my eyes, quiet my mind, and give the book my full attention, this would have been a 5-star read. As it is, it's one I'll likely revisit.
As a story, I enjoyed stepping into the world of Mexican folklore. The world was rich, but so too were the characters. There's a great conversation here about traditional male and female roles in the 1920s Yucatán. The characters had excellent internal struggles which I really appreciated and the relationship between the gods and mortals, the gods and their underlings, and the gods and one another were all interesting.
I'll be perfectly honest - this book was fantastic, but I wasn't able to mentally focus on it the way I wanted to by no fault of the author. I think if I'd been able to close my eyes, quiet my mind, and give the book my full attention, this would have been a 5-star read. As it is, it's one I'll likely revisit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexism, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Kidnapping
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Unfortunately I didn't super enjoy my time with this one. This is a quest narrative but it didn't do the job as one for me. I think the beauty of a quest narrative is that you don't really know where it's going - as a reader you have knowledge of an end point and an initial plan, but something will throw the hero off course to keep you on your toes. However, the narrative followed the initial plan in a really linear and repetitive way, with only minor obstacles for Casiopea and Hun-Kamé (until the end).
I did like the narrative voice as I found it unique and it had a fairytale-like quality to it. However, it came at the cost of feeling distanced from Casiopea and her inner-world. A final thing I didn't like about the book was how quickly Casiopea and Hun-Kamé fell in love. Even though we are told this happened slowly, they had only known each other for a few weeks so I just didn't find this believable.So I was especially frustrated that they were both so close to throwing in the towel because of this love. Also, I really don't like the immortal/mortal trope especially as Casiopea is only 18.
Despite these negatives, there were a lot of positives too! I really enjoyed the opposing development of Casiopea and Hun Kamé, how they were switching from mortal to immortal or vice versa, and how they learned more about their initial state through the other's journey. I really liked where Casiopea ended up overall, too. Speaking of the ending, the last 50 pages were really fantastic - gripping and satisfying. And I really loved reading and learning about Mayan mythology too, like the duality of Xibalba that was cleverly reflected in so many other parts of the narrative.
I did like the narrative voice as I found it unique and it had a fairytale-like quality to it. However, it came at the cost of feeling distanced from Casiopea and her inner-world. A final thing I didn't like about the book was how quickly Casiopea and Hun-Kamé fell in love. Even though we are told this happened slowly, they had only known each other for a few weeks so I just didn't find this believable.
Despite these negatives, there were a lot of positives too! I really enjoyed the opposing development of Casiopea and Hun Kamé, how they were switching from mortal to immortal or vice versa, and how they learned more about their initial state through the other's journey. I really liked where Casiopea ended up overall, too. Speaking of the ending, the last 50 pages were really fantastic - gripping and satisfying. And I really loved reading and learning about Mayan mythology too, like the duality of Xibalba that was cleverly reflected in so many other parts of the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Confinement, Racism, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Gun violence, Colonisation, Slavery, Deportation, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Gore, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death of parent, War, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Self harm, Body shaming, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: illness, colourism, ethnic racism, volcano, self-injury, insects, hurricane, earthquakecerilouisereads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
nicnevin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
A mesmerising blend of myth and magic set in 1920s Mexico. It felt alive, bold and vivid depictions of different places both real and not.
Sometimes I struggled with the main character in terms of her own agency but it blooms near the end. It did not end how I thought bit felt the better for it.
Sometimes I struggled with the main character in terms of her own agency but it blooms near the end. It did not end how I thought bit felt the better for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
bluejayreads's review against another edition
I was originally going to do a Review Short for this one, but it turns out I have a whole review’s worth of thoughts after all. Mainly because I am just so disappointed in this book.
The concept is fantastic. I love stories of old gods who aren’t worshiped or believed in anymore who have to get help from mortals to stop the evil machinations of other old gods, and that’s essentially what this is. It’s also featuring Mayan gods and set in 1920s Mexico – a mythology and setting that I haven’t read much about (I don’t think I’ve ever read something set in 1920s Mexico, actually). The concepts are great and the plot is solid. It’s everything else that left much to be desired.
Mainly because there isn’t anything else. The people are cardboard cutouts bouncing along as the plot demands. The plot itself plods along, not exactly slow but never changing pace. There are no twists and no obstacles to give it texture, it never speeds up to drive tension, and it never slows down to leave room for character and setting. I spent over six hours with these characters, and the only things I know about them are things that were told to me by other characters or the narrator. (The narrator also looks down on Casiopea because she’s young, which was very irritating.) I spent six hours in 1920s Mexico, but all I know about it is “flappers, but it’s hot outside.” The plot seemed determined to force its way forward at the same pace regardless of anything else.
I loved the gods and how much the story shows of them, but they were still cardboard puppets forced along to the constant plodding of the plot. There were demons and ghosts and spirits and the Mayan underworld and fascinating ideas about the spacial limitations of deities, but I had to grasp for those interesting bits as the plot pushed me past. It glossed over all of the interesting parts that might have given it flavor – Mexican, Mayan, 1920s, mythological, or anything else – in favor of a relentlessly monotonous pace. Even with the threat of death for the protagonist and bad things for humanity if the antagonist won, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I so wanted more from this. I wanted it to bring together 1920s Mexico and Mayan myth into something rich and magical and bursting with mood and atmosphere. I wanted a world I could sink my teeth into – and I think if I’d gotten that, I could have forgiven flat characters. I might have even been able to forgive a lackluster world if the characters were compelling and had personality and chemistry, even though the world was what I really wanted out of this story. But this book has neither, and the plot is far too straightforward to be interesting. As great as the ideas are and as much as I wanted to like this book, I just couldn’t find a reason to care.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood
abominablesnowaro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Cursing, Classism, Bullying, Blood, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol